Postembolization syndrome after hepatic transarterial chemoembolization: effect of prophylactic steroids on postprocedure medication requirements.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the impact of prophylactic use of dexamethasone and scopolamine on analgesic and antiemetic agent requirements after transarterial chemoembolization.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 148 patients underwent 316 rounds of chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma at a single institution over a 17-month period. Patient charts were retrospectively reviewed for demographic data, procedural technique, and use of analgesic and antiemetic medications. Patients were grouped into three categories: group A received steroid prophylaxis before and after the procedure, group B received steroid prophylaxis before the procedure only, and group C received no steroid prophylaxis.

RESULTS

Analysis was performed on 125 patients undergoing 252 procedures. Demographics were similar among groups. Overall, 86 (68.8%) were male, and mean age was 62 years (range, 39-82 y). Ninety-one patients (75%) had Child-Pugh class A cirrhosis and 25% had Child-Pugh class B cirrhosis. Dexamethasone was not significantly associated with decreased analgesic agent use (P = .6). Group A patients used significantly fewer antiemetic agents (Δ = 0.89; P = .007) compared with group C. A transdermal scopolamine patch was not associated with reduced use of antiemetic agents (P = .3). Age was inversely associated with analgesic (P <.001) and antiemetic agent use (P = .004). Men received significantly fewer antiemetic agents than women (P = .002), whereas there was no significant difference in analgesic agent use (P = .7).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of steroids did not affect analgesic agent use and had a minor effect on antiemetic requirements. The use of a scopolamine patch was not associated with reduced antiemetic agent use.